Patch Notes #1 - A weekly gaming digest

Biggest gaming news of the week, in less than 5 minutes.

Welcome to the first edition of Patch Notes, let’s get this bad boy going.

(Yes, that’s AI-generated ofc)

What caught my attention this week

Star Wars Outlaws has seen a surprising lack of marketing for such a significant release. I expected to see much more coverage.

The scores for Visions of Mana caught me off guard. What we saw during the campaign looked quite promising and got me hyped. I’ll likely pick it up once it releases on the Switch.

Biggest News of the week

Star Wars Outlaws launches
Star Wars Outlaws, Ubisoft's highly anticipated open-world game, has been released to relatively OK reviews. Critics praise its immersive gameplay and faithful representation of the Star Wars universe. However, some also disliked the lack of depth - see the link to reviews in the next section.

World of Warcraft: The War Within expansion is live

Blizzard's latest WoW expansion, The War Within, has launched, introducing new zones, raids, and storylines to the long-running MMORPG. I have been playing it and it’s EXCELLENT. Even better than Dragonflight, which says a lot.

Black Myth: Wukong sales continue to surpass expectations, but drama brews around the Xbox release
The Chinese Souls-like action RPG game made by Game Science, Black Myth: Wukong, has exceeded sales projections, becoming a surprise hit of the summer gaming season. However, drama has started to surface regarding the supposed Xbox release. Conflicting reports suggest it's either due to technical difficulties or an exclusivity deal with PlayStation. (I'd highly suggest ignoring and not partaking in this brain rot inducing shitshow)

Visions of Mana Revives Classic JRPG Series
Square Enix's Visions of Mana has successfully rebooted the beloved Mana series, earning praise for its modern take on classic JRPG mechanics. However… the studio behind it is being canned by NetEase which is changing its strategy for studios outside of China. You can read a free Bloomberg article here.

Concord Struggles to Find Player Base
Despite a high-profile marketing campaign, PlayStation's hero shooter Concord is struggling to attract and retain players in its first week.

Gamescom 2024 Breaks Attendance Records
The annual gaming convention in Cologne, Germany, has reported its highest-ever attendance figures, signalling a strong recovery for in-person gaming events.

Biggest Releases this week

• Star Wars Outlaws (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC) - 78 OpenCritic

• Visions of Mana (Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, PC, PlayStation 4) - 76 OpenCritic

• Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club (Switch) - 78 OpenCritic